Byzantine History Quiz

Noname · **on:** June 02, 2009, 04:06:54 PM

This quiz is about the history of the Byzantine Empire, the state in Greece and the formerly Hellenistic east that continued the Roman state for over a millennium. Facts here must be between the years 330-1453 AD.

I'll start. Whoever gets it right gets to ask a new question.

What was the name of the Byzantine emperor who defeated the Sassanid empire after nearly losing to it?

Hint: He also changed the official governmental language of the empire from Latin to Greek.

Malte279 · **Reply #1 on:** June 02, 2009, 04:30:15 PM

Emperor Heraclius?

Noname · **Reply #2 on:** June 02, 2009, 10:00:47 PM

Correct. He beat the Persians, and would have gone down as a far greater figure is the newly Islamic Arabs didn't attack and take much of his territory just after that first war had ended.

Your turn, Malte.

Malte279 · **Reply #3 on:** June 03, 2009, 05:39:56 AM

Where did the Byzantines suffer their first major defeat against the Seljuks and how does (according to one of several popular legends) the flag of modern day Turkey refer to that battle?

Noname · **Reply #4 on:** June 03, 2009, 02:45:11 PM

Battle of Manzikert (also in that Age of Empires game!), and it was said that a Crescent moon was found in the blood of Turkish soldiers, although, that is probably a legend. The crescent moon and color red are on the Turkish flag today.

Malte279 · **Reply #5 on:** June 03, 2009, 02:51:16 PM

^ What the legend said is that the the crescent moon and star were reflected in a puddle of blood which is theoretically possible though it may be a legend just as well. I guess I'll better avoid anything that was mentioned in AOE2 in future questions

Your turn Noname.

Noname · **Reply #6 on:** June 03, 2009, 02:56:18 PM

What Byzantine monarch took the throne, but was not considered emperor by the pope, thus, in his mind leaving the title of "Roman Emperor" vacant, which was one of the factors in the crowning of Charlemagne as "Holy Roman Emperor" in the west? Also explain why the pope thought the position of emperor was vacant.

Mirumoto_Kenjiro · **Reply #7 on:** April 13, 2010, 11:36:37 PM

Empress Irene took the throne, but she was not recognized by the Pope because she was a woman. The throne was "vacant" because her son Constantine V was too young to take the throne at the time, and Irene ruled until he came of age.

Noname · **Reply #8 on:** April 13, 2010, 11:49:08 PM

Exactly! Funny thing is, Irene nearly married her contemporary Charlemagne. Had this been done, he would have moved from Aachen to Constantinople, united his empire with her's and possibly recreated the Roman Empire in some form. Of course, she was deposed before this could happen, and in any event, the two empires were too different to really cohere well; one was Latin/Germanic and Catholic, the other was Greek and Orthodox. It would have taken a long line of superb emperors, excellent luck, reconciliation between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, and a serious opening up and building/rebuilding of the Western European infrastructure and economy to match Byzantine standards in order rebuild the empire, and even then, it would have been a Christian state, not the old Rome of the Caesars.

Your turn, Mirumoto_Kenjiro.

Mirumoto_Kenjiro · **Reply #9 on:** April 15, 2010, 11:17:49 PM

Here's a quick one. What innovative weapon was used by the Byzantines to secure victories from invaders?

Noname · **Reply #10 on:** April 15, 2010, 11:22:00 PM

The most common weapon that comes to mind is Greek Fire, which could have been made one of several ways. This liquid apparently burned on water (as several other liquids can), and was used to torch an Arab fleet that threatened Constantinople.

Mirumoto_Kenjiro · **Reply #11 on:** April 17, 2010, 01:01:55 AM

Correct! Your turn, Noname.

Noname · **Reply #12 on:** April 17, 2010, 06:28:03 PM

Sometime in the late 1000's, a Byzantine Emperor asked the Pope for help. Who was the emperor, who was the pope, and why did the Emperor call for help? Also, if you want to answer this next part, what was the long term effect of the letter?

Malte279 · **Reply #13 on:** April 18, 2010, 01:02:13 PM

There were several Byzantine Emperors calling for help from the pope in the 11th century. Emperor Michael VII Doukas sent a plea to pope Gregory VII in 1074, which did not really result in anything (the pope was perhaps the pope was too busy with his own troubles in dealing with the Holy Roman Emperor to bother much about the problems of another emperor.
However, in 1095 Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos send another plea to pope Urban II which ultimately resulted in a stronger reaction than the Byzantine Emperor probably hoped for, namely the crusades. Not only did marauding crusaders cause a lot of damage while moving through Byzantine territory, but in 1204 crusaders didn't even get to the "holy land" but ended up settling for sacking Constantinople. Though the Byzantine empire lasted for almost 250 more years many think that the weakening the Empire had suffered from the crusade probably set the stage for the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453.

Noname · **Reply #14 on:** April 19, 2010, 12:14:32 AM

Yes. The one in 1095 was what I was thinking about, and was the only letter which would qualify for having long-term effects.

Your turn, Malte.

Malte279 · **Reply #15 on:** April 19, 2010, 04:34:28 AM

Which famous Byzantine general was offered to be made Western Roman Emperor by the Goths and was ultimately stripped of his command in the war against the Ostrogoths?

Noname · **Reply #16 on:** April 19, 2010, 07:50:04 PM

I'm going to say Flavius Belisarius, the general of the Roman Empire ironically tasked to conquer Italy for emperor Justinian. I believe it was Justinian's jealousy of Belisarius that made him lose command, and to have Narses finish the job later on. Of course, by "job", I mean the violent conquering of Italy, and the centuries-long occupation of Rome by the Orthodox Eastern Empire (although the two churches were not formally separate until 1054, they differed in many ways. )

Is that correct?

Malte279 · **Reply #17 on:** April 19, 2010, 08:08:51 PM

Belisarius was the one I was asking for. Your turn.

Noname · **Reply #18 on:** April 19, 2010, 08:33:07 PM

What was the name of the battle in which 14,000 or so prisoners were said to have been blinded, with only 1 in every 100 men left with one eye to lead the other 99 home? Which Byzantine emperor was said to have committed this act, and what country was he fighting against?